Council amends funding for I-45 hike, bike trail project

SHENANDOAH — Shenandoah City Council members amended previous plans to secure funding for a hike-and-bike pathway along the Interstate 45 southbound feeder at a meeting Wednesday evening.

The council originally proposed a 40 percent local match in early December; but after an agency coordination meeting with TxDOT, officials were told the original cost estimates were too low, City Administrator Greg Smith said.

“The representative said that our cost estimates were done as if we were doing the project,” Smith said, “not as a TxDOT project.”

Several considerations pushed the costs of the project up, Smith said. The timeline for the project would increase to 36 months from the original six- to 12-month timeline, which also includes six months for TxDOT to review plans. Technical requirements also pushed up the fees, such as ensuring that the pathway sidewalk is 6 inches instead of the original 4 inches, along with additional landscaping.

“A lot of the costs were related to landscaping,” Smith said. “It was originally lump-sum landscaping, and they don’t allow that.”

City officials had to provide specific numbers for landscaping items, such as trees and bushes, and also had to factor in other costs to address things like drainage issues.

These considerations increase the project fees from $200,000 to $400,000, Smith said. The City Council agreed to stay above the minimum match by voting unanimously to amend the grant proposal to 25 percent matching funds.

This is the first time that the city of Shenandoah has applied for a grant as part of TxDOT’s Transportation Enhancement Program, and TxDOT officials were impressed with the narrative of the proposal, Smith said. Shenandoah is also the only city in the TxDOT region that proposed a 40 percent match.

According to TxDOT’s website, to qualify for the program, the projects must be integrated into the surrounding environment in a manner that contributes to the livelihood of the communities, promotes the quality of the environment and enhances the aesthetics of roadways.

Smith previously said the pathway has been part of the city’s master plan for several years and will help get pedestrians and bike riders safely along the feeder. The pathway would stretch from Country Lane to Research Forest Drive.